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It seems that the Active Autowerke supercharger for the E92 M3 has already claimed a motor. We were suprised to learn of this since AA took so much time to come to market and did extensive testing. The vehicle in question has meth in addition to 93 octane so we don't feel this was a fueling issue. If the motor blew with meth as a safety on top of 93 octane it leaves either the tune as the issue or a defect in the motor. Additionally, Active changes the plugs on the motor to colder heat range HKS plugs. Take a look at the shots of the plugs to see that they may have played a part in the motor blowing. The factory plugs are an intricate part of the knock control systeml.

The car itself was a dealer demo car. People beat the crap out of these cars so keep that in mind. I would never buy a demo, you should never buy a demo. There is a reason customers are encouraged to "test" on demos. The motor only had 25,000 miles.

Here are pictures of the installed AA SC:

And the aftermath:

Plug from failed cylinder:

Compared to plugs in other cylinders:

Bottom of car:

Top end:

Water in intake manifold:

Pieces from the motor:

We will have more as we find out more but it seems there is going to be some explaining to do. Will be interesting to see if the failure was mechanical or the tune itself. For those with Active SC's, we advise you to monitor the situation closely.

wow nice find man very interesting! i saw them at a meet recently at matheson-hammock park. the car was there and fine. i didnt hear anything from anyone local as of yet so it must be recent. i am also curious to the cause of the failure and what active's POA is.

wow nice find man very interesting! i saw them at a meet recently at matheson-hammock park. the car was there and fine. i didnt hear anything from anyone local as of yet so it must be recent. i am also curious to the cause of the failure and what active's POA is.

I'm sure we will get an explanation at some point but I would not be surprised if it was an issue with knock and the plugs.

I'm sure we will get an explanation at some point but I would not be surprised if it was an issue with knock and the plugs.

since im very local ill try to get the inside word, hopefully straight from the horse's mouth (karl or mike), i dont care for rumors. but you are turning out to be quite the reporter, that or you have some inside guys all around

Sorry for taking so long to get to this, I had people calling me regarding this thread and it had me extremely puzzled. Unfortunately the links are no longer active but I had a co-worker look at them in time and he informed me something weird was going on with whatever motor was pictured in the thread... weirdest part was I believe it was posted over a week and a half ago from what I understand.

We were able to speak to the owner who assured us there is a misunderstanding of sorts going on, not sure if that is an old motor or whatever but we actually installed this system on the owners car a few months back at our location and had him drive back home. With that said we will be in contact with them next week but will respect their privacy until then and have everyone updated if need be.

The title of this thread is misleading to say the least but after reading it myself I realize it was more of a question than anything. Thanks again to everyone who called/texted me about this and to FI owners out there regardless of what system you own or are looking to purchase you can rest assured FI for the E92 M3 is fine when done correctly and this incident (not sure if there is even an incident) was not a result of a SC kit.

Maybe Omar hasn't seen the pics. They are pretty self explanatory. For him to say it wasn't the kit that caused the "incident" is bold and will be hard to prove I highly doubt it was a manufacturer defect from BMW yet the car lasted 25k miles eh dunno bout that one.

There was a day when if you added performance modifications to your car that people were aware of the risks and if $#@! blew up, to bad so sad.

Whether it is VF, AA or HPF.. or any other vendor, I simply don't understand where people think they should be reimbursed if their $#@! blows up. Maybe times have changed, but it just didn't use to be like that. Try getting NOS to replace your motor if you blow it while on the spray lol..

Guys, I'm so sick of the drama no matter who the vendor. When you start pushing cars beyond their OEM design, $#@! is going to break. You don't expect BMW to replace your Axles if you snap one while racing, so why would you expect a F/I vendor to replace your motor if it blows.

Seriously, maybe the guy got a bad tank of gas. Maybe he was beating on the car showing off. Maybe the OEM fuel pump lost pressure. There could be 100 different reasons why the motor blew that have nothing to do with AA's kit.

Maybe it's from the racing culture I grew up around. We were hard core street racers, before the F&F crowd made it mainstream. I never cried to a vendor when $#@! broke.. it was just what could happen when you push this hell out of your car.

I'm not aware of any blown motor caused by the ESS or Gintani kits. ESS has over 100 kits installed which is an amazing track record. Gintani has way fewer kits installed, but have been able to push the limits with great success.

Originally Posted by ccsykes

There was a day when if you added performance modifications to your car that people were aware of the risks and if $#@! blew up, to bad so sad.

Whether it is VF, AA or HPF.. or any other vendor, I simply don't understand where people think they should be reimbursed if their $#@! blows up. Maybe times have changed, but it just didn't use to be like that. Try getting NOS to replace your motor if you blow it while on the spray lol..

Guys, I'm so sick of the drama no matter who the vendor. When you start pushing cars beyond their OEM design, $#@! is going to break. You don't expect BMW to replace your Axles if you snap one while racing, so why would you expect a F/I vendor to replace your motor if it blows.

Seriously, maybe the guy got a bad tank of gas. Maybe he was beating on the car showing off. Maybe the OEM fuel pump lost pressure. There could be 100 different reasons why the motor blew that have nothing to do with AA's kit.

Maybe it's from the racing culture I grew up around. We were hard core street racers, before the F&F crowd made it mainstream. I never cried to a vendor when $#@! broke.. it was just what could happen when you push this hell out of your car.

G-Power released their kit with a dangerous tune which caused the destruction of several motors. In my opinion they did the right thing by reimbursing the owners. AA's kit is brand new to the market with no proven track record and now they have a blown motor issue.

I don't believe anyone should expect ESS to replace a motor if something like this happens, because they have a long successfull track record that the kit is tuned properly and relatively safe. Another good example would be the Cobb Accessport for the GTR.

You don't expect BMW to replace your Axles if you snap one while racing, so why would you expect a F/I vendor to replace your motor if it blows.

I'm not exactly sure why they think BMW should reimburse for this.

However, it is not so far fetched for the person to think BMW should reimburse for a factory defect if it caused the motor blow. I mean, why not? If that is the case, the motor blew due to BMW, not anything related to the aftermarket. Just because an SC is strapped on does not mean you forego your legal rights. It is still a matter of getting to the bottom of what happened.

Look at it this way, if you had the bad bearings for the S54 that BMW put out and you lost the motor while SC'd, would you hold BMW accountable for the bearings they recalled or simply pay out of pocket because you were SC'd? It really would not be your fault.

However, it is not so far fetched for the person to think BMW should reimburse for a factory defect if it caused the motor blow. I mean, why not? If that is the case, the motor blew due to BMW, not anything related to the aftermarket. Just because an SC is strapped on does not mean you forego your legal rights. It is still a matter of getting to the bottom of what happened.

Look at it this way, if you had the bad bearings for the S54 that BMW put out and you lost the motor while SC'd, would you hold BMW accountable for the bearings they recalled or simply pay out of pocket because you were SC'd? It really would not be your fault.

you're right, but, if the engine suffered from a defective part, how can you prove what the outcome would have been if the SC was not strapped on to the car? So, i guess it's fair that BMW reimburse for the part that was faulty, but having the SC on might have just doubled or tripled the damage done.

you're right, but, if the engine suffered from a defective part, how can you prove what the outcome would have been if the SC was not strapped on to the car? So, i guess it's fair that BMW reimburse for the part that was faulty, but having the SC on might have just doubled or tripled the damage done.

I guess the best deal now would be an SC kit with a warranty!

This is where the tough part comes in. If it is something blatant on BMW's part, you get an attorney and you prove it if you know you have a case. If they see that, they will at least deal with you. If not, you are screwed and should not expect BMW to bail you out for what you should have known you were getting into when you put the SC on.